Local beauty

I had to follow up my last post’s criticism of local architecture with something more positive from the design files.  When walking through a nearby neighborhood a few weeks ago, I spotted this fence.

Among the many hum-drum front fences of these townhouses, the horizontal wood planks are a welcome sight.  It all looks very well-crafted.

 

Do you love that rolling gate?

I bet that is fun to come home to.  My in-laws built and installed a similar door in their house.  Good times.  Noodle salad.  (Can you tell me what that’s from?)

I commend you, neighbor!   Job well done on that curb appeal!

Goodman, again…

I read this article in the Real Estate section of the Washington Post last weekend, and since I know you depend on me for timely dispersal of information, I thought I’d share.  It’s about the house that Charles Goodman built for he and his family in the early 1950s- a structure that was originally a farmhouse from the 1850s which he gutted and added a very modern glass and steel pavilion for living.  Today the house is on the market, attracting all sorts of interest, and not just from potential buyers.  You remember Goodman, right?  We talked about the neighborhood (Hollin Hills) he and developer Robert Davenport designed in Alexandria.  Or you might remember him from this post about Reagan National Airport.

It was great to read about his personal home design and see photos like this one:

See more images on the Post’s gallery from the article.

One tidbit about the house is that it has its original St. Charles Cabinetry (though they’ve been painted over in black).  I’d never heard of this company, but they produce steel cabinets.   St. Charles Cabinetry is also used at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth house, both on my list of must-see architecture.  Maybe I should go to one of the open houses for the Goodman house?

p.s. Martha Stewart even uses them!

Airport Style

So last week I wrote about Hollin Hills, a neighborhood nearby, and mentioned that it was laid out in the early 60s by an architect named Charles Goodman.  I also wrote that Goodman was the original architect of National Airport (now known as Reagan National Airport).  Well, that’s not entirely true (I need to remember that Wikipedia isn’t always a reliable source of information), though he was part of the original team of designers.  See, after I wrote the post, bells started going off in Dr. Jay’s head.  On a trip through Reagan (the airport) a few months ago he happened to pass by what looked like a lobby preserved in time in Terminal A.  He’s been saying we should go check it out ever since, so on Sunday we finally did.  After an hour and $2 to park in the short-term parking garage, we’d learned all about the history of the airport.  It sits on land which used to be Abingdon Plantation, owned originally by Captain John Alexander.  Abingdon was purchased in 1778 by John Parke Custis, the adopted stepson of President George Washington, and was the birthplace of Washington’s beloved granddaughter, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis.  Ruins from the original house (which was destroyed by fire in 1930) still remain on the grounds, and artifacts are preserved in Historic Terminal A.

Visiting Historic Terminal A is also a great way to see the first airport building’s unique style, which was definitely a blend of the classical architecture President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested as a way to pay tribute to the rest of Washington’s architecture and of the emerging modern aesthetic demanded of the technologies present in an airport facility.  Here’s some of what we saw:

Pshhhha- we went in anyway.  There was no function.

 

 

 

Here’s a final photo of the more recently designed Cesar Pelli addition to the airport.

If you’re ever in Reagan and near Terminal A, stop in and check it out the Historic Lobby.  It seems as if they will be further restoring it to its original early-American airport style.  Don’t miss your flight or anything, but it’s worth a looksy if you’re stuck at the airport for some time.

Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum

Last weekend we had a friend in town, and despite the snow storm on Saturday, we made the trek into D.C. to spend the afternoon at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

I have to admit, this museum hasn’t been high on my list to visit.  It’s one that though I wanted to experience, I knew it would be emotional and other D.C. sites always seemed to take precedence.  But my friend requested this museum, and frankly, it made a lot of sense to go on a snowy day.  The bitter weather of the day ended up being eerily appropriate for the subject.

I am still in awe of the experience.  I had no idea the museum was so well-designed.  It opened in 1993, before great design was really on my radar, so I never really knew what I was missing.  It was designed by James Ingo Freed, and as far as museums go, this was one of the best I have ever visited.  We spent three hours there, only in the permanent collection (there is a current exhibit there about Propaganda) and I think I read almost every placard.  I learned an incredible amount in such a short period, and I was emotionally drained.

There’s no photography allowed in the actual exhibits, but I was able to snap a few of the transitional spaces, which I think are really important to the impact of the museum.  This museum was really well-conceived.  Even on a snowy, winter day, there were a lot of visitors.  It’s not technically their high season (which is from March to August when passes are required) so I was amazed at how many other folks were present.

Without further adieu, here are some of my photos.  These next few are from the light-well in the center of the building.  Again, the snow was strangely appropriate when thinking of the conditions of the Holocaust.

This one is looking down into the lower entrance level.  I couldn’t get over those guys in uniform (see below, on the stairs).  I thought they were character actors from the time-period and I was trying to figure out what the uniform might be representing.  I finally asked one of them where they were from.  Turns out they go to West Point and they were at the museum on a field trip.  Whoops.

You see all these roofs from the walkway in between the levels, and incredible reminder of the many European cities affected by the Holocaust.

I wish I could have taken photos of some of the exhibits, but all I can say is that if you have time in D.C., this is a must-visit.  I’m really glad we were convinced to go.

Here are a few other photos of the snow in Alexandria this week, as I brace for the impending blizzard this weekend.  Maybe I’ll get to blog some more, but only after I dig myself out of the closet I plan to reorganize tonight.  I would show you “before” photos, but I’m too embarrassed of its state, so I’ll just blame the poor lighting conditions.

The one above is my office, and that loading dock leads to the Ice House, which back in the day used to store ice.  Now it stores old drawings.

 

Mid-Century in the Movies

Over the weekend Dr. Jay and I tried to go on a date to see Crazy Heart, but arrived a little late and the only seats available probably weren’t together (not date-worthy) so we ended up seeing Tom Ford’s A Single Man. 

We had seen the previews for this movie back in the fall and were intrigued.  Well, it’s not that romantic of a movie (if you are heterosexual) but the architecture is amazing.  Colin Firth’s character lives in a 1949 John Lautner designed home supposedly in Santa Monica (though it’s actually in Glendale, thank you Apartment Therapy) and the images from the movie are still with me.  I enjoyed the movie for the architecture.  That sounds like a completely ridiculous thing to say.

Look how the house is formed around the tree.  Incredible.

The house is for sale right now- it’s two bedrooms, one and a half baths, two car detached garage:  listed for $1,495,000.  Actually, that’s a steal compared to home prices around here.

If you’re wondering why I am posting in the middle of the day during a work week, well, I am waiting for the plumber.  He is LATE.

The Yellow Front Door

I have a new love… the yellow front door.

As I’ve mentioned, we live in Alexandria, Virginia where many things are as historic as they get in America. There are brick and cobblestone sidewalks and streets, real shutters that work, and historic rowhouses dating back to before the father of our country was in long pants. I love seeing all these structures on my rides to work- the rhythm of the rowhouse is comforting. But every once in a while I have to do a double take. Behold, the yellow door:

This is one I absolutely adore- the canary yellow looks incredible with the more subtle green and grey.

Here’s another one, in a mustard tone. It looks more stately:

I started looking around online for yellow doors, and came across an article from Martha Stewart’s late publication Blueprint, which I sorely miss!

Click on the photo above to read the article.

And one last Yellow Door image that I dig:

Do you agree? Anyone else out there have or want a yellow front door?

Our new digs in Alexandria

I wanted to update you all on our new life in Alexandria, though it's been brought to my attention that this post is bordering on "too personal, not enough architecture". I'm not sure how I feel about that, since my thoughts about architecture in a place are of course tempered by my experiences there, and in order for you to know where I'm coming from with my opinions, you have to know a little bit more about me and my life. Right? Plus, it's my blog and I can do what I want. If you think it needs more architecture, you'll have to speak up. For now, I bring you: 10 things I like about our new place 1- Our proximity to the Mount Vernon trail along the Potomac River. It's been essential to my running. And it takes you past Reagan National Airport, so you can run right underneath a plane landing. 2- The patio. Our interior space is small, but we feel lucky to have some outdoor space enclosed with a brick wall. It's a grilling area, some extra space for Rudy, and hopefully a hang-out when the temperature cools and we get some outdoor furniture. 3- The pot rack. As soon as we began bringing our boxes in, I knew we'd never be able to fit all our pots and pans in the few cabinets in the small kitchen. I was able to find an amazing deal on a pot rack from the Crate and Barrel Outlet, and Dr. Jay installed it. He reviles home improvement/repair projects, but I know he likes seeing our beautiful pots and pans given to us by my mother for our wedding. 4- We don't pay for water. Or trash. Dr. Jay would say that we implicitly pay for water and trash with the price of rent, but all I know is that it's fewer bills to worry about each month, and I like that. 5- There is a pool! We've only been there twice so far, so I need to make better use of it, but it's there! 6- Our proximity to Old Town Alexandria. It's only a mile walk, and there's always lots going on down there. There's a farmer's market on Saturdays that I'll write about in an up-coming post. 7- Our proximity (6 blocks) to Trader Joe's. 'Nuff said. 8- The Washington Post. My mom gave us a subscription, and it's been fun keeping my finger on the pulse of the city. I like the Home and Food sections, and of course the Style section. And lately, the Classifieds... 9- There's a great dog store (I guess most people call them pet stores?) also very close. And they carry Rudy's food, which is a huge plus since he is spoiled and has hard-to-find food. 10- All of Old Town Alexandria is VERY dog friendly. We've heard of a dog happy hour that goes on somewhere, and most stores allow dogs, including my current part-time job store. There are some things I don't like about our new place. We still, 2.5 weeks after ordering it, do not have Verizon DSL, the only DSL available in this area. Dr. Jay and I have both spent WAY too many hours on the phone with them, and I am completely at my wits' end. A technician is supposed to be arriving tomorrow morning to fix everything, and for that to happen I had to stomp my feet and yell, so let's hope it's all resolved tomorrow. My posts have been spotty lately because of this inconvenience, so I apologize. There's also some funny switching in this apartment. A lot of the switches are half-switched to outlets, but most don't make any sense or are a real pain because if you aren't careful, you might turn off your phone charging or you computer when you flip a switch. On the whole, we like our new digs and are transitioning to this new chapter in life. I'll leave you with photos of the patio. It needs a lot of work, so consider these the BEFORE photos: The first meal on the grill (on move-in day!) and Rudy, who had just been digging and probably burying a rawhide.Rudy's pool.